In his first public comments since beating out other bidders for the Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer said late Thursday he loves basketball and embraces “inclusiveness.”

The former Microsoft CEO bid $2 billion for the Los Angeles team in a sale handled by Shelly Sterling, who co-owns the team with her husband Donald Sterling.

“I will be honored to have my name submitted to the NBA Board of Governors for approval as the next owner of the Los Angeles Clippers,” Ballmer said in a statement. “I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win – and win big – in Los Angeles.”

“LA is one of the world’s great cities – a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness. I am confident that the Clippers will in the coming years become an even bigger part of the community.”

Ballmer’s bid for the Los Angeles franchise comes after Donald Sterling was banned from the league for life by the NBA amid revelations the Clippers owner made racist remarks. Donald Sterling’s comments angered many local leaders, who said such racist views don’t represent the diverse city of Los Angeles.

The league also moved to force a sale, prompting Shelly Sterling to fast-track the bidding process for the team, which her husband purchased in 1981.

Though the deal still requires NBA approval, the league vetted Ballmer last year during his unsuccessful attempt to buy the Sacramento Kings. On Thursday, Ballmer said he was “grateful to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and his colleagues for working collaboratively with me throughout this process.”

If the $2 billion sale is finalized, the Clippers would fetch the second-largest price ever in North American pro sports, behind the $2.15 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. It would also shatter the record for the sale of an NBA franchise, currently set by the Milwaukee Bucks, which fetched $550 million last month.

Donald Sterling’s attorney Maxwell Blecher said Thursday afternoon his client would resist any forced sale. Asked if Donald Sterling would be amenable to a voluntary sale if the league’s June 3 hearing to terminate his ownership is delayed, Blecher said: “If that occurs — which we doubt — we’ll see where it leads.”

On Thursday, Shelly Sterling said she was acting under her authority as the sole trustee of The Sterling Family Trust in accepting Ballmer’s bid. A binding agreement was signed between Ballmer and Shelly Sterling.

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“I am delighted that we are selling the team to Steve, who will be a terrific owner,” Shelly Sterling said in a statement. “We have worked for 33 years to build the Clippers into a premiere NBA franchise. I am confident that Steve will take the team to new levels of success.”

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson on Thursday praised the proposed sale to Ballmer.

“This is happening on a faster pace than any of the professionals thought it would go,” Wesson said.